
Plutarch on the outbreak of the Roman Civil War
The Roman Empire was known for its decline as much as its rise. The common thinking is that Rome fell due to the Barbarian invasions from the north. In other words an external enemy. Yes, that has a part to it. However, another less known part is that the decline came internally as well. Rome had infighting that eventually destroyed it.
Roman legions became loyal to their own generals instead of the state. In a 20 year period, Rome had 20 different emperors claiming to be Roman emperor. Rome was falling internally. Soldiers became loyal to the army more than the state and that led to civil wars. Roman legions were fighting each other instead of fighting barbarians or other external enemies.
The same thing could happen here in America. People think of the American civil war as the first major conflict among Americans. What may people do not realize is that the conflict amongst it's people even before that. In the Revolutionary War, when America was an England colony, Americans hd to decide whether to support the English (called Loyalists) or to support the revolution. A great number choose to be Loyalist. Even Benjamin Franklin's son William Franklin was a Loyalist.
Today, America is definitely not United. I feel the greatest division is between political ideological grounds. We have the liberals on one side and the conservatives on the other. There are battles between these two distinct ideologies every day. Gay marriage versus traditional definitions of marriage, gun control vs gun rights, abortion vs life, more regulations vs less regulation, the state vs religion, controlled markets vs free markets, restriction of speech vs freedom of speech, high taxes vs sane taxation, and on and on.
We have a president in Obama who seems to relish in these differences and is looking to defeat the other side.
Unfortunately- or better yet realistically- history shows that this will eventually lead to internal strife and ultimately greater divisions. The Roman empire was one of the greatest in the world. The American dream still lives to this day. However, internal strife abounds and even America is not impervious.
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